Tuesday, June 28, 2011

It's Been A Long Time Baby!

My family just returned from vacation in Montana. While on vacation, we didn't have phone or internet service for the first 2 days. By the third day, I was enjoying myself so much, I forgot what the internet was! By the seventh day, I missed my faithful 5 and decided to post a report on the fantastic foods we had eaten so far on our trip. I was almost done with my post when I hit a wrong button and wiped it all out! I was pretty disgusted at first, but it turned out to be a good thing because we ended up eating awesome Mexican food about as far from Mexico as you can get!

We started our trip in Pony, Montana, with a family potluck for Father's Day. There were two outstanding dishes that I couldn't get enough of, and will be making at home. First was Cheesy Potato O'Brien casserole. When I asked how to make it, I was told to "throw frozen O'Brien potatoes, cheese, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup in a dish and bake it". So there you go....I'm going to try it with some chopped up ham inside. The other dish was shredded BBQ elk. It was awesome! I like most big game (except venison), but grass-fed game is the best. Northern meat has such a richer flavor than the weed-fed stuff we get down here.

On to Helena we went, by way of the 3 Forks cafe' in Three Forks, MT. The four of us each had something different, and each plate was fabulous. The special of the day included pea salad, which is my husband's favorite. It was pretty good, but was a little runny and not as tasty as mine! To make it, thaw some frozen peas, and mix with chopped red onion, grated cheddar cheese, crumbled feta, chopped hardboiled egg, chopped ham, and equal parts mayo and ranch. We eat it as an entree with some bread!

My husband's aunt has celiac disease, so every year we get a taste of a gluten-free diet. I really like the breads, as they have a dense, moister consistency than regular bread with wheat. This year, she made a homemade gluten-free strawberry cake that was delectable! As much as I love bread, it really is easy to substitute with other grains and roots. Instead of biscuits and gravy, we had hash browns and gravy, which was just as good.

One of my favorite places on earth is Marysville, MT. It is an old mining town, nearly abandoned except for a dozen or so people and the Marysville House. The Marysville House is a wonderful restaurant and bar that is the only public building still open in town among the many buildings that were boarded up and left to rot along main street after the mines ran dry. You can check out the place at http://www.marysvillemontana.com/. Ten years ago, the kitchen was screened in outside, and you had to walk through it to get to the back patio and horseshoe pits. Every night, the bonfire out back is lit, and you can roast marshmallows for dessert. Now, the horseshoe pits and bonfire are still there, but the health department put the kabosh on the outdoors cooking so the owners had to build a new kitchen inside. The dining room is small and dark, except for gas lanterns on the walls and oil candles on the tables. The walls have been etched and written on by countless guests (my name is still legible from 10 years ago), and the tables are handmade wooden picnic tables with benches. Our family took up three tables this trip, which was half of the seating in the entire restaurant. Ten years ago, the menu was very basic and was posted on the wall: steak, lobster, or trout. This year, the menu was quite extensive (as compared to last time) with two cuts of steak, pork loin, shrimp scampi, 1/2 chicken, crab, lobster and an oyster skillet. You don't get a salad, but you don't need one either. The portions are huge-20 to 24 ounce steaks, lobsters, and pork loins, double-scoop of beans, whole corn on the cob, about a pound of sauteed mushrooms, and endless bread. I had the pork loin, and boy was it delicious! It was barbecue charred on the outside and super juicy and tender inside. Prices are a little high, but you're paying for the atmosphere, experience, and a huge hunk o' meat! I highly recommend a stop there, and don't forget to put a tack in your hometown on the map! There are two from Winslow......wonder who the other Winslonian is?

It's really hard to beat Marysville, but a little Mexican restaurant called Melaques in downtown Helena tried pretty hard to come close. The owners of the place are from Melaques, Mexico, and have a done a pretty good job in bringing decent Mexican food to the gates of the Rockies. I had a shredded beef chimichanga that boasted a nice hint of cinnamon in the meat that was quite surprising. To add to the cinnamon, which I love, the red sauce on top of the chimi had a small dose of peanut butter that added some sweetness and extra flavor.

Of course, there's no place like home. As soon as we got home, we had to get a filling of our favorite Mexican food at the E & O Kitchen at the airport in Winslow, AZ. I love the hearty, savory flavors of the north country foods that I grew up on, but I LOVE the burn of good Mexican food even more!

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